Gulliver has announced that Tzu-yu Zoe Chen, a Mandarin Chinese faculty member at the preparatory school, has been named Chinese Teacher of the Year by the Florida Foreign Language Association (FFLA). She also was elected as the 2018-20 president of the Florida Chinese Teacher Association (FCTA) and a board member of the FFLA.

The announcements were made by Clifton L. Kling, president of Gulliver Schools.

“We’re immensely proud of Tzu-yu’s accomplishments. Her wealth of knowledge and devotion to Gulliver has helped enrich our language program beyond our expectations,” Kling said. “Her constant drive to enhance the program attests to her leadership skills in the classroom and within the community.”

As president of FCTA, Chen will connect with a wider community of foreign language educators and be responsible for furthering the organization’s mission of promoting and supporting the teaching, learning, and usage of all world languages and cultures. The knowledge gained through this experience will add value back to Gulliver’s already robust language program.

Chen has 11 years of experience as a Mandarin Chinese teacher and in that time she has led Gulliver’s Mandarin Chinese team to host the 11th Florida Statewide Chinese Competition which drew an impressive 400 students from across the state. In 2016, Chen was presented with the Florida Foreign Language Association’s Most Valuable Teacher Award for her teaching of Mandarin Chinese.

The Florida Foreign Language Association is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the study and teaching of languages and cultures. The FFLA is an affiliate of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and its member organizations include the Florida Chinese Teachers Association.